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Welcome to my Blog!

Hi there, nice to have you visiting! I'm Heidi and this is the blog for Heidi Bears. Here is where I post all the happenings in my work and daily life. Here and there you'll find info on things that have caught my attention as well as the odd tutorial. I hope you enjoy your visits. I love to have feedback, so leave me a comment!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Happy Sunday! This pic was taken in Hawaii during a conference Mr P attended. Quite peaceful, although a storm was brewing...

Today I have the finished tutorial as promised :) It's a lovely simple project that was enjoyed by my kids and their friends and was a lifesaver when they were bored and restless if we were waiting somewhere and the minutes felt like hours...

You can make it from any paper really, it just has to be a square.

Step 1. I have used a piece of 12X12 inch scrapbooking paper, which in this case happens to be double sided. Decide which side you would like to be the most visible on the finished bird. Turn the paper over to the other side and start to fold the corners towards each other, one set of corners at a time.

Step 2. Fold the bottom left hand corner up to the top right, then unfold, fold the bottom right hand corner up to the top left hand corner, unfold, then the paper right side to left side, bottom to top, in other words, at the end of all the folding, you will have a piece of paper that will look like that in the next pic.

Step 3. Rotate the paper so that it looks like the pic above.

Step 4. Now carefully manoeuvre the two outside points towards the middle, as shown. You may need to "help" the folding of the creases on the sides inwards.

Step 5. Holding the points as shown, gently bring your hand down to the table, and the whole thing will flatten itself.

Step 6. This is where you should be at :)

Step 7. All the points match up and you are ready for the next step!

Step 8. Lifting the top edge you are now going to fold the paper as shown above. The outer edges will fold in towards the inner folds. This is a bit tricky, but do it slowly, one fold at at time. Your paper should look like the next pic.

Step 9. WIP! Fold the other side now.

Step 10. Your birdie should look like this now. Both sides have been folded inwards. You can still see the under section needs to be folded. The bit that I am holding is the flap that will from the wing of the bird.

Step 11. Turn the paper over and repeat the same process.

Step 12. Turning over ;)

Step 13. Lifting the flap to start folding the edges inward.

Step 14. Your paper should look like this.

Step 15. If you slide your hand into the fold as shown, you can use your other hand to gently pull the point marked, up and outward.

Step 16. Lift the point as shown, making sure that you leave about 1cm of edge BELOW the line of the paper that my finger is placed on. This is important for the "flying action" of the birdie. In the small inset pic, I have lifted the whole flap that was in front, upwards to show you the area I mean.

Step 17. Flatten the side of the bird so that it looks like the pic below.

Step 18. Now repeat the same manoeuvre for the other side. You are nearly done!

Step 19. Your birdie should look like this.

Step 20. On the left side, fold the point as shown, you are making the head of the birdie.

Step 21. I have taken this pic from the top, to show you how to fold the crease inwards, to form the little head. When you flatten this area, the head will stay as is, as in the pic below.

Step 22. Lift up both flaps (which are the wings), as shown below. Your birdie is Done :)

You will need to learn how to make him fly now...

Step 23. You need to hold the little bird as shown below, EXACTLY! Your thumb on one side and your forefinger on the other. Your finger placement is really important, both fingers should lie ABOVE the wing fold line, in the "chest" area of the bird.

Step 24. Imagine that the turquoise dot under my thumb is the Bull's Eye that shows the thumb placement needed, and turquoise line is the reference point, above which your fingers should be placed. Pinch together with firm pressure. Use your right hand to bend the wings into a nicely curved shape, and then hold the end point of the tail, and gently pull outwards. Your bird will begin to fly....

The final product!

I like to use origami creations to add a bit of interest to wrapped presents, cards etc. You can also use them to entertain children, make them up in plain white paper, and let the kids colour them in with pencils and crayons. They are also inexpensive and easy to make... :)

On a completely different note, I found this link quite interesting... I have a bit of a survivalist streak in me, (knowledge is power I say!)...

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Happy Saturday one and all! It's a lovely day here at home, slightly cloudy but warm, kinda cosy feeling you know... It's a special day for two of our close friends, Heinrich and Mandy, who are getting married today!!!!! Congratulations you two, may you have only love and joy from this day on...

On another note, I am preparing a photo tutorial for tomorrow's post: How to fold an Origami Bird. It's a fun project that I have used often to distract my kids when they were small, as this little bird can flap it's wings when you pull it's tail! It's also an nice quick easy project that you can use to decorate a gift, make a hanging baby mobile, stick onto a handmade card etc... you just have to use your imagination :)

The above pics are from home...a gorgeous blue-purple rose that grows in my garden (Rhapsody in Blue), and one of my favourite wooden, carved and gilded vases (you have a leakproof pot inside ;) ), that always looks gorgeous with roses... small things that make me happy...

And now for a new thing... I am going to include a "word of the day" in most posts, something that I always enjoy, learning the meaning of a word I may not often come across :)

Word Of The Day

precatory

an adjective meaning:

1. Expressing a request

2. Non binding, only the expression of a request or wish

I am off to celebrate at the wedding...have a wonderful Saturday!Lots of Love, Heidi :)

Friday, February 26, 2010

Welcome to my first blog post! It's been quite a journey, setting up and adding all the finikity bits that make a blog attractive...at times I wondered if I would manage to work out the intricacies of adding tracking codes, and (miracle!), getting my pics to load! In any event...ta da!! here it is :)

I've started this blog to celebrate the wonderful creativity that lives in us all. I think that the majority of people have a creative side, even if they haven't yet discovered it. I wasn't creative at all in the "crafty" sense until after I gave birth to my first child, and having stopped work, had to fill some time with something to do that would entertain me while my daughter slept (which thankfully!) was quite often. Since then I have tried a zillion (ok, a small amount of artistic license here...) different crafts/activities/things... I haven't stuck to all of them, but found that the pleasure of swopping between them (I get bored quite easily), made up for the side effect of a consistently growing pile of UFO's ;)

I have, over the years , returned again and again to specific activities, and my intention is to blog about these. I won't promise to blog every day, but will try not to go weeks without a post... You'll find the odd interesting item, link or pic...some tutorials on a variety of subjects...an occassional book review...some scenery...a discovery... hopefully stuff that will appeal to most of my followers, most of the time :) You are probably going to have to get used to the liberal use of exclamation marks, and smileys...

My first post's pics are some of the activities that I have and still do enjoy doing. These include, but are not limited to painting, digital scrapbooking, photography, sewing, knitting, crochet, decor, beading/jewellery making, teddy bear making to mention a few... this won't be all though, creativity in my mind extends to other unrelated un-crafty (is that even a word?) things...like appreciating the creativity in others, and admiring their special abilities.

I am often inspired by passionate people and their doings...so I will post about anything interesting that I come across...

As I am new to the world of blogging, bear with me if links and things don't always play nice with us...I am sure it will become easier as I go... In these pics, there are two examples of digital scrapbooking, some photography favourites, a knitting pic (I am seriously crazy about knitting :) ), and a sweet bear that I designed and made a while ago...

All in all, I am very excited about this blog and would appreciate any suggestions for posts...

Have a wonderful Friday night, I am off to watch a movie with the kids and Mr P!

Olli Polli The Elephant Pattern

Lollo African Flower Bear Pattern Click to Buy Now

The Hearty Hexagon Crochet Motif Pattern

Hi, I'm Heidi, the creative mind behind Heidi Bears, the blog! I am a happily married mom of two beautiful daughters, and live in an old house with wooden floors, which needs more attention than a newborn...but we love her anyway!
I love creative activities and have probably tried every kind of craft at one time or another :) I feel blessed and thankful for the diversity in my life...